WORKERS UNDER FASCISM
[To the Editor of' THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,--As a witness of Fascism from another angle (I have spent some eight months in Germany recently) may I support Signor Villari in his contention that it is absurd to regard Fascism as a system by which capitalists flourish at the expense of the workers ? No one who has lived in Germany since 1933 would ever dream of making such a statement. As applied to conditions under the Nazi regime, the charge is merely silly.
What now exists in Germany is a modified, but nevertheless fairly advanced form, of State-socialism, in which capitalists are alllowed a much smaller degree_ of freedom to exploit the community than they enjoyed in the pre-Hitler, days.
I have discussed economic questions with dozens of German capitalists. They complain, almost always, of the fact that the workers enjoy too much power, that they cannot now discharge employees as they formerly could, that immense sums are being spent on the workers, while their own profits are curtailed for social purposes, and so on. Workers, on the other hand, are generally (unless in the case of dyed-in- the-wool Reds) strong supporters of the regime.
How much is known in England of the K.D.F. (Kraft durch Freude), with its marvellous organisation, embracing thousands of holiday trips and hundreds of beautiful homes for workers on holiday or on sick leave ? For a sum of about two shillings per day a bona fide worker can spend a holiday in an up-to-date hostel (with running water in all bedrooms) and excellent food. Ile can travel at about one-third of the usual rates. He can (as thousands have) travel to the Mediterranean in a sumptuously appointed steamer, at a cost of about £4 for a trip of ten days all included.
A totally false impression has been created in England for the simple reason that the public does not know these things. I do. And I therefore claim the freedom of the Press to state them in your columns.
I might add that •I have visited some of the new working- class houses, which are let at about 5 to 0 marks per week rent, and they compare favourably with council houses let in England at 12 to 16 shillings per week. To suppose that the German worker is much worse off because his wages are a little lower is therefore erroneous.-..Yours sincerely,
Garmisch, Bavaria. MEYRICK Boo-ru. [The Spectator has published more than one article on the K.D.F. movement.—En. The Spectator,]
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